


Choreography

by laurus_nobilis



Category: xxxHoLic
Genre: F/M, Implied Relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-04
Updated: 2012-12-04
Packaged: 2017-11-20 07:43:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 789
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/582953
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/laurus_nobilis/pseuds/laurus_nobilis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Clow never said any of the important things.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Choreography

"You are completely ridiculous."

Clow didn't seem at all upset by her words. He smiled a little, just as he always did, but it had a strange effect with the half mask on. It was even creepier than usual.

"Because of my disguise, or because of my idea?" he asked.

"Both, of course," Yuuko said. It was quite a pity that he couldn't see her frowning, what with her own mask getting in the way. "Carnival in Venice. _Honestly_."

"Well, where else would you go for Carnival?"

"I bet Rio is a thousand times more fun than this."

"Perhaps," Clow admitted, with a small nod. "But, while I am sure that you would look equally lovely in either kind of outfit, there are some things that just weren't made for me to wear."

"And yet you don't seem to have a problem with insane amounts of gold and ruffles."

"You like it just as much as I do," he said, amused. Not that Yuuko would give him the pleasure of admitting he was right. Arguing with him was part of the fun, and if she couldn't contradict him in all honesty, then it was time for a subtle change of subject.

"But that's not the real reason why you brought me here, isn't it?" she asked him. "You always have an ulterior motive."

"It's not a very interesting one this time," Clow replied, chuckling a little. "Mere sentimentality, I'm afraid. I used to love Venice when I was young."

Yuuko raised her eyebrows as she heard that last comment. _Used to_? It was very obvious that he still loved this city very much. It was there in the way he stared at everything, in that silly little smile he got whenever he recognized something as familiar. That was the problem with Clow. He had so much love to give, and you could see it if you knew him well enough, you could tell just how deeply he felt – but it would be foolish to expect him to ever say anything about it.

It was a line of thought she'd rather not pursue.

"Interesting," she mused, pretending to be thoughtful. "I wonder if I can blame Venice for your gaudy taste, then."

"That's unfair. Do you really give so little credit to my own imagination?" he asked, still with a wide grin on his face. "On the other hand… this _was_ where I first figured out how Cerberus would look like."

"Winged lions in Venice. You're even less original than I thought."

"It was quite the breakthrough for me at the time, you know. And he's not _quite_ a lion."

"Close enough."

"Never mind," he said. "I didn't bring you here just to argue."

And then, with one swift movement, Clow wrapped an arm around her waist and suddenly they were dancing right there on the piazza. It was crowded, of course, and mostly everyone else was doing the same, so they blended right in and Yuuko had a good excuse not to chide him for making her look ridiculous. She didn't particularly feel like complaining about this, after all. Then again, she wasn't going to admit she _liked_ it, either. He'd have to make do with what he could notice on his own.

… and perhaps, just perhaps, they were a little more similar than she'd like to admit. They both played the same game; they both had this way of dancing around every important issue, never saying anything that really mattered, never letting go of their masks. She wondered, sometimes, why they still did this. Both of them knew that the other one could see perfectly well through their disguise. They could see the truth behind each other's masks, quite clearly. Perhaps they were just too used to this, to present themselves to the world with this careful choreography of things left unsaid.

This setting was appropriate for them, after all. And then, realization hit her – of course it was appropriate. The bastard _knew_ that. It was just like him to do something like this. Clow never said any of the important things, after all. He took you halfway across the world and let you figure it out by yourself.

"I knew there had to be an ulterior motive," she muttered, more amused than she'd admit even to herself. He tilted his head and stared at her, a little taken aback, but didn't stop leading her in their dance as he spoke.

"Just because I've managed to steal a dance from you?"

"You aren't stealing anything, mister. You'll have to buy me a drink after this."

And what she really had been thinking about, she didn't mention. He should be smart enough to figure it out on his own.


End file.
